Alright so this morning my wife goes “Honey we gotta hit Saks in Garden City before that handbag sale ends” and I’m thinking uh oh. Driving there always feels like navigating a maze after that remodel last fall. Grabbed my phone, fired up Maps, and figured I’d better actually write this down this time.
Getting Out The Door & Initial Route
Started off punching “Saks Fifth Avenue Garden City NY” into Google Maps. Our place is in Bayside so it suggested taking the Cross Island Parkway South. Yeah, no thanks. That thing’s always packed. Took the Grand Central instead—way smoother at 10 AM.
Highway Part Was Mostly Okay… Until
Drove west on the Grand Central, merged onto Northern State Parkway without too much fuss. Exited at Glen Cove Road—that’s Exit 31N, not 31S. Messed that up last month and ended up circling near Adelphi University. Total time-waster.
After the exit, turned right onto Ring Road. Looks confusing ’cause everything’s named “Ring Road” around there. Signs point to Roosevelt Field Mall so I just followed those. Park was busy already—saw tons of SUVs circling for spots.
Parking Nightmare Solutions
Saks itself shares garages with the mall. Here’s what I learned hunting spaces:
- Saks Valet: Easy but costs $12 first hour. Forgot my wallet in the glovebox so nope.
- Orange Garage: Closest to Saks. Drove to Level 3 near Bloomingdale’s side—found two spots! Marked zone “D”. Snagged it and snapped a pic of pillar number (D-308) so I wouldn’t forget.
- Street Parking: Tried 7th Street first. All 2-hour spots taken by Tesla bros. Wasted 15 minutes before giving up.
Pro tip: Enter the garage from Ring Road West entrance. Avoid Museum Drive side—dead ends near Cheesecake Factory overflow.
Final Trek to the Entrance
Walked from Orange Garage to Saks: went down escalator near *, cut through Neiman Marcus shoe department (my wife almost got distracted), then took covered walkway straight into Saks menswear. Whole walk took 7 minutes. Not bad!
Got the bag she wanted. Mission accomplished. Parking spot retrieval? Smooth—just followed “D” zone signs back. Garage exit spit us right onto Charles Lindbergh Blvd.
So yeah. Glen Cove Road exit, Orange Garage Level D, avoid street parking unless you love stress. Next time I’m paying the valet though.
